Pets: "We’re down to two now. One cat, Lightning McQueen, and one dog, Stan. Stan
is a rescue chihuahua mix. He was the role model for Bob the dog in
Ivan. The drawings in the book look precisely like Stan."

Favorite pizza topping: Black olives, onions and anchovies.

Best Christmas present: "Gerbils. I think I was 9, and my mom ordered them for me
from a catalogue. They bred like crazy, and I was selling gerbils all around Michigan. They wrote a
story about me in the local newspaper."